


When Magic Meets Mayhem

by flipflop_diva



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Crossover, F/M, Future Fic, HP: EWE, Mission Fic, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post - Deathly Hallows, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-18 13:48:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2350610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was no way that someone who could take out three Aurors without a wand could just be a Muggle, was there? Harry isn't sure, but he does know that there is something very different about this woman.</p>
<p>Or, when Harry's auror mission doesn't go as planned and he and Hermione end up part of something that is far bigger than they expected.</p>
<p>Set in some unspecified post-Deathly Hallows, post-CA:TWS world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the crossover challenge at the LJ comm Game of Cards. Except it got a little out of hand, and now needs a part two.

She came out of nowhere, flying through the air silently, stealthily and so quickly that Harry hadn’t even realized she was there until his three comrades went down, all landing unconscious on the ground by his feet.

He looked up, wand at the ready. She was back across the dark warehouse, crouched in a defensive pose, looking at him. The single light above their heads did nothing to help with visibility, but he could still make out the steeliness of her gaze. He could also make out the lack of a wand in her hands. Instead she held two pistols, pointed directly at him.

She was a Muggle?

Harry’s wand almost faltered. How was that possible?

But then she was up, running toward him at full speed. He ducked, spinning out of the way, just barely missing being taken down by her leg.

She whirled around. He held his wand up and shouted, “ _Stupefy!_ ”

The red light flew toward her, but at the last second, she leapt over it, the spell shattering into a tower of boxes behind her, which plummeted to the floor.

Harry stared at her, shock evident across his face. She stared back, and for a second Harry thought he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes as she shifted her gaze to his wand. And then she turned and was gone.

•••

“I’m telling you, Hermione, it was the weirdest thing.” Harry looked over at Hermione, who was sitting across the desk from him, her legs and arms both crossed, frowning.

“No one was supposed to be there,” she said. “We had it on good authority.”

“I didn’t make her up!”

“No,” she said. “I imagine you didn’t. But Harry, there is no way with what you describe that she could just be a Muggle.”

“I’m telling you,” Harry said, “she didn’t have a wand. She had guns.”

“Maybe you just thought they were guns?”

“Are you saying I don’t know what a wand looks like? Because I think …”

“No,” Hermione interrupted before he could get too defensive. “I’m saying maybe it was a wand transfigured to look like guns.”

“Why would someone do that?”

“To make you think they were a Muggle,” Hermione said simply.

“Hmmm,” Harry said. It was a thought. But the way the woman moved, and the way she ran after his spell almost hit her ...

“I don’t know, Hermione,” he said slowly. “I really think she was a Muggle.”

“That seems impossible.”

“You’re telling me.”

•••

They tried again the next night, this time just Harry and Hermione assigned to the job. 

“She’s not even an auror,” Ron had complained when they told him they couldn’t bring him along this time either. “Why does she get to go?”

“Because she knows more about this guy than anyone else in the wizarding world,” Harry had said. “And I’m sure this won’t be the end of it. We’re just on a scouting mission.”

Ron scowled. “I never get to do anything fun,” he muttered, but he dropped it after that. 

And so Harry and Hermione found themselves in a dank alley in London, tip-toeing along past empty buildings. They had gotten the tip a month ago that a Muggle was kidnapping witches and wizards and holding them hostage, but there had been no sign of those taken or of the one who had taken them. Everyone at the Ministry was on the case, searching for them on foot and by air and casting detection spells, but if this really had been the work of a Muggle, he was very, very good. 

Two nights ago, however, an auror sent on a searching expedition had reported seeing a broken wand in an abandoned warehouse, the same warehouse Harry and his crew were sent to last night. They, obviously, had not found anything apart from the woman who was now haunting Harry’s every thought.

“Do you think she was working for him?” Harry whispered to Hermione as they crept along. He knew he was acting like a broken record, and Hermione was probably close to strangling him, but he couldn’t help it.

“It makes sense,” Hermione said. “As I’m sure I’ve said before. But Harry, please stop thinking about her. We need to concentrate!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying,” he muttered.

They kept walking, and soon enough, they arrived. There was no sign of Muggle or wizard activity. Just a very dark, very silent building. 

Harry pointed to the door to the building that they could just make out on the roof. It was how they had gotten in last time.

Hermione nodded, and Harry took her hand, Apparating them from the ground to the roof in a second. He pulled his invisibility cloak from his pocket and slipped it over them. Luckily, it still mostly covered them, despite that fact that they were slightly bigger than they were as teenagers. Once they were ready, they slipped in through the door and headed down the stairs. 

It was just as dark and just as silent inside the building as outside. Hermione reached her hand outside the cloak and murmured, “ _Lumos_.”

The end of her wand lit up, casting a soft glow. Harry could see the boxes that had fallen to the ground just the night before. It didn’t look like anyone had touched them.

They inched forward, going slow just in case. 

And then all of a sudden, she was there. The woman from the night before. Standing in front of them, arms crossed, looking at them as though she could see them even through the invisibility cloak.

“It’s her!” Harry said, realizing too late that he said it in a shout.

The strange woman came flying toward them, leaping up at the last second, her legs heading directly for their heads. Harry shoved Hermione, hard, to the right, sending her flying out of the way. She crashed into more boxes and fell, or at least Harry assumed she had. The cloak went with her, and all he could see was the speck of light from her wand.

The woman, though, landed lightly on her feet and spun. She was just inches from Harry now. He could see she wore some type of leather suit and boots.

She reached almost inside her suit and pulled out something silver, which she tossed at him. Harry leaped to the side, as it struck the ground and exploded. 

The woman ran for him again, this time diving toward him. Harry scrambled to get to his feet, but she was faster, grabbing hold of his leg. He fumbled for his wand, but before he could even turn, she was on his back, her arms around his neck.

Harry struggled, but her grip was so tight. Too tight.

And then, a flash of red light. A scream from somewhere behind him.

“ _Stupefy!_ ”

He felt the weight as the woman on his back collapsed unconscious on him. Harry shoved her off, sliding out from underneath, breathing hard.

“Thanks,” he mumbled to Hermione, who still had her wand pointed at the woman, glaring.

“Hermione?” Harry said.

“Don’t hurt her! Please!”

Another voice. Both their heads turned to the sound, wands gripped tight in their hands.

“ _Lumos_ ,” Harry commanded, and waited as into the light of his wand stepped the strangest sight he had ever seen (which was saying something, considering they were friends with Luna): a man dressed in a sparkly red and blue spandex suit that looked a little like an American flag had thrown up all over it.

“What the …?” Harry started, but beside him, Hermione let out a gasp and … was that a squeal?

“Captain America!” Hermione said, and was it Harry’s imagination, but did she sound slightly giggly as she said that?

“Who?” Harry said, as the man in the spandex said. “You can call me Steve.”

Harry turned to Hermione. “You know him?”

“Captain America,” Hermione said breathily, as though that explained everything.

“That means nothing to me.”

“Oh my goodness, Harry,” Hermione said, her tone quickly turning to exasperation. “How many times have I told you that you should pay attention to Muggle news? He’s a real-life superhero.”

“Muggles have superheroes? For real?”

“Yes!” Hermione said as the man — Steve — said, “You could say that. We prefer to be called the Avengers.”

“The Avengers,” Hermione repeated, and all of a sudden, her mouth dropped open and she looked a little pale. “Oh, no,” she said.

“Oh, no, what?” Harry said. He was so confused by what was happening around here.

“If you’re Captain America,” Hermione said staring at Steve, “then that makes her” — she pointed to the still unconscious woman by Harry’s feet — “Black Widow.”

Steve nodded. “Yes,” he said. “It is.”

“Oh,” Hermione said. “Well, bollocks.”


	2. Chapter Two

Harry frowned at the man — Steve. He refused to call someone Captain America, especially someone who his girlfriend was currently gawking at. That just sounded stupid — and gripped his wand so hard his knuckles turned white.

“I’ll wake her up,” he said, pointing to the unconscious redhead, “but you better hold her so she doesn’t kill us.”

“She won’t kill you,” Steve said.

“She sure seemed like she wanted to before.”

“She didn’t know who you were.”

“Does she _now_?” Harry asked. Sure, they had introduced themselves to Steve — or rather Hermione had. Muggle superheroes apparently turned her back into a schoolgirl with a crush who couldn’t stop talking — but Harry was pretty sure there wasn’t any superpower that let someone meet people when they weren’t even conscious.

“Good point,” Steve said. 

Harry waited while Steve gathered the woman — Natasha, Steve had called her — into his arms, holding her against his chest with his very, very muscular arms. Harry found himself almost not being able to look away. Maybe it wasn’t so surprising Hermione had such a fascination with him …

Steve interrupted his thoughts. Thankfully. 

“Okay,” Steve said. “Ready.”

Harry pointed his wand at the woman. “ _Rennervate_ ,” he said.

Another burst of red light, and Natasha jolted in Steve’s arms, her eyes snapping open. Just as Harry expected, she almost instantly made a move to spring at him, but Steve’s arms held her tight, and she gasped as Steve pushed her back against him.

“It’s okay, Nat,” Harry heard Steve say quietly to her.

Natasha was still struggling in Steve’s arms. Her eyes found Harry’s and she glared. 

“He tried to _kill_ me,” she hissed.

“Hey!” Harry said. “ _You_ tried to kill _me_!”

“Shut up, Harry.” Harry felt Hermione poke him in the side, a second before she turned to Natasha. “We are _so_ sorry,” she said. “We had no idea who you are.”

“I still don’t,” Harry said.

Hermione shot him a look. “Don’t mind him,” she said. “He’s a dolt. We’re very sorry.”

Natasha was still glaring. She twisted around to look at Steve. “What’s going on? Do you maybe want to tell me why we’re all sitting here chatting after he tried to kill me?”

“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead,” Harry muttered.

“Harry!” Hermione practically shrieked.

Natasha lunged. Apparently Steve expected it, because he didn’t let go of her and easily held her in place. Harry glanced at Steve’s arms and adjusted his wand. This whole situation was definitely not in his comfort zone.

“Natasha,” Steve said. “We’re on the same side.”

“How do you know that?” she said.

“Yeah,” Harry said, “how do you know that?”

“Because it was in the report!” Hermione said. “The Avengers are part of S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is on our side.”

“Who?” Harry said. “And what report?”

Another glare from Hermione. Harry thought about the stack of paperwork covering his desk and had a feeling she was going to be making him do a lot of reading in the near future.

“He’s Harry Potter,” Steve said now to Natasha.

“ _He_ is?” she said at the same time as Harry said, “Wait. How do you know who I am?”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. has reports, too,” Steve said.

“I am so confused,” Harry said.

Natasha looked like she agreed, but she just crossed her arms and glared at no one in particular. Harry wondered if she ever smiled.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. was set up to protect the world against all sorts of threats,” Steve explained. “We’re here on a mission.”

“So are we,” Hermione said.

Steve looked at her, then at Harry, as though trying to assess them and the situation. Finally he said, “Kidnapped men and women who’ve disappeared without a trace? Possibly ones with magical powers? A leader who can’t be found? Possibly one without power?”

“Yes,” Hermione said.

“Hermione!” Harry said. Since when was Hermione the one spilling wizarding secrets? Wasn’t she the one always telling him to not talk so much?

“We’re on the same side!” she said.

“We are,” Steve said. “As long as you want to stop this guy and find these people.”

“Of course we do,” Harry muttered. “They’re our kind. I still want to know how you know who I am.”

“Lord Voldemort,” Steve answered simply. “You don’t think that whole situation was unknown to the world’s security council, do you?”

“Errr … yes,” Harry said. “I did actually.”

Steve shrugged. “It’s not.”

Harry turned to Hermione. “I feel like some people have a lot of explaining to do,” he grumbled, thinking maybe it was time to schedule a one-on-one with the Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt himself. 

“Not now, Harry,” she said. “We have other problems.”

“We do?” he said.

“What do you mean ‘we do’?” she almost shrieked. “I think we have a mission.”

“Oh,” he said, “that. Well, I knew that.”

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. Then she turned to Steve and Natasha.

“If we’re all on the same mission anyway,” she said, “then we should team up.”

“Hermione!” Harry said instantly. “We can’t do that!”

“I think that might be good,” Steve said.

“We can’t do that,” Natasha said. “That’s not protocol.”

She and Harry looked at each other. Finally something they agreed on. Unfortunately, their two partners did not seem to share their opinions.

“We can’t stop magic,” Steve said to Natasha. “But they can.”

“And they can track Muggles in ways we can’t,” Hermione said to Harry.

Harry frowned. “I don’t like this,” he said.

“I hate this,” Natasha said.

“Let’s do this,” Hermione said.

“Done,” Steve said, and he held out a hand. Hermione shook it, Steve smiled, and Natasha and Harry glared.

_This_ was going to be interesting, Harry thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Natasha get to see a little magic, and we learn a little more about this secret mission.

The most logical thing was to compare notes. At least according to Hermione. To Harry, the most logical thing was to all go their separate ways and pretend this never happened and hope they never ran into each other again. Especially Natasha Romanoff. Harry was still pretty convinced if they met in a dark alley without Steve Rogers around that she would have no qualms killing him. She just gave off that kind of vibe.

But Hermione thought they needed to compare notes, and apparently Steve agreed with her, so off they were going.

“Are you really sure this is a good idea?” Harry whispered to Hermione as they led the way back down the alley on which the building they had been in was located. They had taken a few minutes to look around, in case there was something to be found, but except for the four of them, the warehouse was as empty and silent as could be, and there was nothing that looked out of place — no broken wands or broken packages or even stray pieces of hair.

Hermione shrugged now as they walked along. “It’s not ideal,” she said, “but all our notes are at the Ministry.”

Harry frowned at her. “I thought you were a walking textbook. Can you not remember what is in the notes I know you’ve been pouring over every day for weeks?”

“I can,” she said, “but I want to be sure what I tell them is right. And there are pictures in the notes. You know how important this is, Harry. We don’t want to make a mistake with our intel.”

He did know. All too well. But still, he couldn’t help worrying.

“I still don’t think letting Muggles into the Ministry of Magic is a good idea,” he said. “Isn’t there another way? What if it’s a trap?”

Hermione shook her head. “If it was a trap, don’t you think they would just _go_ to the Ministry instead of setting up some elaborate scheme to befriend us — after trying to kill us — and persuade us to get them in that way?”

“I think it would be a good plan,” Harry muttered. “Because it obviously seems to be working.”

“For Merlin’s sake, Harry,” Hermione grumbled. “Do you ever listen to the things you are saying? I told you who they are. They are not trying to take down the Ministry of Magic.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe their SHIELD thing has something against magical people. I think you believe in people too easily.”

“I do not. And SHIELD has been around for decades. I’m sure magical people is not a new discovery for them. They wouldn’t have left us alone this long if they wanted to harm us. And you are too cynical.”

“I am not.”

“You are, too,” Hermione said, a sharp edge to her voice, and Harry knew that tone. It was her warning not to argue with her. 

“Besides,” she continued, “who are the ones with magic? We can take them down if we need to. They’re more scared of us than we are of them.”

Despite knowing he was treading into dangerous territory, Harry still had the urge to argue with her about that, except not a moment too late, a memory suddenly popped into his head. The first mission to the warehouse. The spell he shot at Natasha. That tiny flicker of fear in her eyes. And then just a little while ago. Steve begging them not to hurt her.

Okay, so maybe Hermione did have a point. Not that Harry would ever tell her that, but maybe she did. 

Harry sighed. He still didn’t trust the two so-called superheroes behind him (the Dursleys specifically had told him superheroes didn’t exist. And even though they had completely lied about magic, it was still hard to wrap his brain around it), but maybe Hermione was right. Maybe they were the best option they had at the moment.

He turned around. Steve and Natasha were walking close together. Steve had his arm around her shoulders, and their heads were tilted toward each other, but it looked far from sweet and romantic. From Natasha’s gestures and the rise and fall of their whispered voices, Harry had a feeling they were having the same argument he and Hermione had just had.

Harry turned back to face forward. He glanced over at Hermione, then reached over to take her hand.

She turned in surprise. 

“I trust you,” he said, suddenly feeling like it was the right thing to tell her. “Let’s do this.”

•••

Hermione did admit Harry was right about one thing, though. They couldn’t just lead Muggles into the Ministry of Magic, especially without warning.

“We can lead witches and wizards, though,” Hermione said to Steve and Natasha. The four of them had stopped in front of the old abandoned red telephone booth that Harry had first seen years and years ago, back when he was just a kid. It amazed him, as it did every time he had to use the visitors’ entrance, that even with all the changes the Wizarding world had been through since then — and the changes he himself and Hermione had gone through — how some things still remained the same.

He turned his attention back to Hermione. She was gesturing for Steve’s big shield and Natasha’s pistols. Steve handed the shield over easily. Natasha looked like she didn’t want to let go of the pistols, but Steve pried them from her hands and handed them to Hermione.

Harry watched Hermione’s face as she handled the guns — hurting people with spells seemed somehow different than shooting them — but she just laid them carefully on the ground, pointed her wand at them and muttered a few words under her breath.

A few seconds later she was handing Steve and Natasha two very realistic looking wands (Natasha’s pistols) and one very fluffy red and blue scarf (Steve’s shield). Steve looked down at the scarf and then turned to Natasha, wrapping it around her neck.

“It looks better on you,” he said, and she scowled.

“And now your outfits,” Hermione said. “You cannot be wearing that.”

She pointed her wands at them. Harry saw Natasha twitch a little, but a couple moments later and they both had robes on, Natasha’s all black and Steve’s blue with a little red stripe.

“That’s better,” Hermione said. She and Harry waited while Steve and Natasha sized each other up.

“You make a very cute witch,” Steve said to Natasha.

“Shut up, Rogers,” she hissed. 

Steve turned back to Harry and Hermione. “Are we ready?” he asked.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Harry muttered as Hermione beamed, “Yes!”

“Now just do as we say,” Hermione said to Steve and Natasha as the four of them piled into the telephone booth — “Are we _really_ going to fit in there?” Natasha grumbled — and began the descent. Luckily for all of them, the visitors’ guidelines had changed a bit since Harry’s first trip to the Ministry, and no one — not even security — was going to question Harry Potter or Hermione Granger when they told them their dear friends visiting from the United States wanted to see their office and everything was fine, no worries at all. Hermione even shared tidbits about the Atrium, including portions of the epic fight between Albus Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort, as they all sauntered along. (“If we go too fast, it will look suspicious,” Hermione had murmured to Harry, who had the urge to run. “Yes, it will,” Natasha said, the first time she had agreed with anything Hermione had said.) And even though Harry had a nervous pit in his stomach the entire time, they made it to Harry’s office unscathed and surprisingly unbothered. 

He locked the door behind them all before he and Hermione took seats behind his desk and Natasha took one of the seats in front of it, but Steve was standing against the far wall, looking around the office, his expression almost giddy. He turned to Harry’s bookshelf and took in the photos of the Weasleys and of Harry and Hermione and their friends and even of Harry’s parents and Sirius that were displayed there.

“This stuff is amazing!” he said, picking up a photo of James and Lily and just staring at it. “I’ve never seen anything like it! But I heard it existed!” 

Natasha reached over and smacked him on the leg. “Focus,” she said. “So we can leave.”

“Come on, Nat,” Steve said, still staring at the photo. “This is magic.”

“I don’t believe in magic,” she said, although that seemed incredibly out of place since she had just less than twenty minutes before let Hermione turn her guns into wands and make her into a witch. But Harry decided not to argue with her. Instead he picked up the largest file that was sitting in the middle of the desk and handed it to her.

“You wanted to see our files,” he said. “It’s everything we have.”

Natasha flipped open the file and began to glance through the papers. Steve finally left the bookshelf and came to stand behind her, watching her as she worked.

“Wait a second!” he said suddenly, grabbing a piece of paper right out of Natasha’s hand. He stared at it, and then turned around and stared at the bookshelf. Then he turned back to Harry and Hermione.

“This girl,” he said, holding the paper out to them. “She’s in your magical photos.”

He was holding a picture of Luna.

Harry swallowed down the lump in his throat. 

“Yes,” he said. “This guy — this _crazy guy_ — he’s taken our friends. That’s why we have to get them back.”


End file.
